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[0:00] Please turn to Revelation chapter 16, and in chapter 16 we'll be reading from verse 17 to 21.

[0:18] Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, It is done.

[0:34] And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth.

[0:50] So great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.

[1:05] Babylon the great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of his fierce wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

[1:23] And huge hail stones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men.

[1:35] And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.

[1:48] Well, what has just been read is frankly quite unimaginable. The world has never seen anything the likes of this.

[2:01] It outstrips the description of anything that history has to offer. It is just beyond our comprehension. I cannot fathom hail stones weighing a hundred pounds.

[2:15] You make contact with one of those, and it will ruin your whole day, for sure. This is the seventh and the final bowl of God's wrath that is to be poured out upon the earth.

[2:31] We have already looked at the other series of seven judgments, and this is the one that God personally administers, and it is the most severe of all.

[2:46] These are called the seven bowls of the wrath of God. Some translations render them vials, V-I-A-L-S. But it doesn't make any difference because all it is, symbolically, is a container, and the angel is symbolizing the wrath of God by pouring out the contents of the container.

[3:09] And as I mentioned, this is the most severe of all of the judgments. But as severe as it is, it is not leading men to repentance, but to further defiance against the Almighty.

[3:24] If you will take a look at the sheet that has been provided you with the brief map, the Campaign of Armageddon, and note, if you will, that there are eight stages.

[3:37] We have already considered the first seven, although I think it took us about 10 or 11 sessions to do them because they are quite extensive, and we were unable to fit in all that they contained into one session.

[3:54] So we had to double up and make a couple of them out of two parts. But stage number eight is the final one, and it is going to be the culmination of Christ's victory over the Antichrist.

[4:09] And all that remains after he has completely decimated the enemy is the triumphant march to the Mount of Olives. And that is the place from which he ascended.

[4:21] You will recall in Acts chapter 1 that our Lord was with the apostles, and he was giving them instructions about they were to remain in Jerusalem until they were endued with power not many days hence.

[4:37] And then someone asked the question, Lord, is it at this time, is it now that you are going to establish the kingdom?

[4:51] And the kingdom, of course, is the general theme of all of the Bible. It is that for which disciples were taught to pray, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[5:07] And when God's kingdom is brought to this earth, things will be as they ought to be, not as they are, because Christ himself will be on the throne in Jerusalem.

[5:20] And that's what the disciples were anticipating when Jesus went into Jerusalem on the back of that donkey. And the people were shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David.

[5:30] As far as the apostles were concerned, they thought he was going to establish the kingdom then. But dying upon a cross is a far, far cry from establishing any kind of a kingdom.

[5:45] And yet, that was to be overcome by the glorious resurrection. And then the 40 days that he spends with the disciples here on earth, on one occasion, was seen by 500 brethren at once.

[5:58] And now they are all standing around here on the Mount of Olives. And they say, well, now the crucifixion is behind you. And the resurrection is a reality.

[6:10] And here you are in this magnificent demonstration of power and glory. You're going to establish that kingdom now, right?

[6:20] And Jesus said, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. But you shall receive power. After that, the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

[6:31] And you will be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. And as they were getting this final message from our Lord, lo and behold, he began levitating.

[6:47] He began just rising, right? And they're standing there. And they're watching. And he's just leaving. He's just going up.

[6:57] What is this? And he goes up and up and up. And they watch with their eyes like saucers and their mouths wide open.

[7:10] Eventually, he is gone. Completely out of sight. Must have been so dramatic. They looked at each other, I'm sure, as if to say, did you just see what I saw?

[7:22] What is this? And then, there were angels standing by. Where did they come from? Angels always seem to come from nowhere. They just show up.

[7:33] They're there. You men of Galilee, why stand you here gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come again in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.

[7:48] And after the shock wore off, they went back to Jerusalem and probably started devising a game plan.

[8:00] And we know that in the early chapters of the book of Acts, they wait ten days. And this tremendous manifestation occurs, the likes of which they'd never seen before.

[8:12] And it was in conjunction with one of the Jewish feast days. It was the Feast of Pentecost. And there, the Spirit of God came in a strange way and empowered them.

[8:23] And with great boldness, they went about proclaiming the gospel of Christ. Unfortunately, the leadership of Israel, those who were in the driver's seat, who made the decisions, the shakers and movers, still refused to get on board.

[8:40] And they began persecuting the apostles. Chapter 4 and 5, it just intensifies. The persecution gets even worse.

[8:51] And a man is raised up who is going to become, I guess we would say, the chief inquisitor, the chief persecutor. I like to think of him as an original Gestapo agent.

[9:04] That's what he was like. And his name was Saul of Tarsus. And then God miraculously saved that man on the Damascus road, totally turned him around, and he became the apostle to the Gentiles.

[9:19] And that is where everything changes. Unfortunately, many in Christendom do not change with it. And we'll be looking at that later on and see the confusion that has arisen from it.

[9:32] But we must continue dealing with this last 24 hours of the tribulation period. This has gone on now for seven years. It's very intense, strewn with all kinds of miraculous manifestations that the world has never seen before.

[9:54] Participants such as angels and demons are going to play a very significant role during this seven-year period prophesied by Daniel that is referred to as the time of Jacob's trouble.

[10:08] It is a time Jesus said such as the world has never seen before and will never see again. This is God's final judgment for sin on this earth.

[10:22] And it is going to be quite severe. So if you will look at item number eight, the victory ascent upon the Mount of Olives. Recall, if you will, Jesus left from the Mount of Olives and he will return there.

[10:37] But he will not return there until he has first arrived at the ancient city of Basra. And Basra is the Hebrew word for sheepfold.

[10:53] And that's exactly what it is going to be. But the sheep in the fold will be Jews. They will be the surviving remnant of Israel after two-thirds of the world's population of Jews have been eliminated.

[11:12] These are the only ones left. They are the faithful remnant. They have been spending their time in Bible study. They have been pouring over the Old Testament prophets and they have seen how their leadership rejected the Messiah when he came and that Jesus of Nazareth really was the one sent from God.

[11:38] And just as an aside, I would recommend for a little personal study, if you want some real enlightenment, get into John's Gospel and every time you see the phrase, He that sent me or I was sent by God.

[11:57] And note, if you will, every time that phrase is mentioned where Jesus is referred to as having been sent from the Father. And I think that in those 21 chapters, you will find that mentioned about 20 times.

[12:14] You almost get the impression that a point is being made. And indeed it was. So now, he is sent for the second time and he has cared for business.

[12:28] He has completely decimated the armies of the Antichrist and the first casualty is the Antichrist himself. And Christ decimates the enemy with his spoken word.

[12:41] That is all that is necessary. I do take it, and we've looked at this before, that we are going to be present. And the host of heaven is going to be present.

[12:52] I have no idea how many the host of heaven is. But all of these are going to constitute witnesses. witnesses. We are going to see this.

[13:03] We are not going to be participants. We are not going to be combatants. But we are going to be spectators. We are going to see the armies of the Antichrist decimated by our Lord when he comes.

[13:19] And it will be just with his spoken word. And we've already looked at the first casualty that will be none other than the Antichrist himself. Now, what Christ's spoken word is going to consist of?

[13:30] I have no idea. Sometimes, it seems to me, it would be appropriate to simply say, drop dead. And they do. Because that would simplify things. But I have no idea what his spoken word will consist of except to say it will be more than adequate.

[13:48] And the reason, the reason that there will not be any other combatants or any other participants in this, what shall I say, in this carnage is simply because we're not needed.

[14:04] The scriptures make it very clear. Christ himself says that he trods the winepress of the wrath of God alone.

[14:15] He will be the sole combatant. And when we already read in Isaiah about who is this that cometh from Basra with its garments stained with red, it is the blood of the enemies with which they are stained.

[14:32] And we've already considered that. So, let us look, if we may, at this victory ascent upon the Mount of Olives because that is traditional, by the way. that goes all the way back to conquering armies even before Rome.

[14:47] That when, when an army had succeeded in conquering a foe, there was always a celebration and a victory march, if you will, a parade.

[14:59] And we do much the same thing here in the United States. I don't know, well, I'm sure some of you weren't old enough to remember, but I can well remember parades that were held in connection with World War II ending.

[15:15] And, my, oh my, what a celebration to see all of the troops in uniform. The war was over and the victory had been won and it was a time of celebration.

[15:26] And that's something that was experienced by the Romans and all the way back and it's just an attestation to the power and the might of the conquering army.

[15:39] and it is a recognition of that. It is kind of like a hail to the chief and in this case, of course, the chief will be none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. Before we get to Mount of Olives, however, I just want to remind you of a couple of things and that is in Zechariah chapter 12.

[15:58] If you would turn there for just a moment, please. The Old Testament, Zechariah chapter 12. It's kind of a familiar passage, but this is so very, very important because this has to do with that last believing remnant of Israel.

[16:13] And we've already covered that. I don't want to spend too much time on it, but you will note in item 5, the national regeneration of Israel. And that is when that remnant is going to come to a very clear faith in Christ as their Messiah and they are going to beg and plead for God to return the Messiah their ancestors rejected.

[16:43] And God will answer that prayer and Jesus will come and he will come here to Basra to that sheepfold. If you have ever seen pictures of this place, and I was never there because when we were there in 1990 and spent about six weeks in Israel, this particular area was off limits to tourists because it was kind of like an Arab hot spot and they were fearful of people's safety so we didn't get to Petra but many people have been there since because from time to time it opens up and you can get in.

[17:18] But this is an absolutely enormous enclave with high mountains all the way around. It's just like a mountainous bowl that is deep and very long very large and the only way in to this area on the ground is through a very narrow passageway where no more than two horsemen can get through at one time.

[17:46] So it is incredible for defense and it makes it almost impregnable. Now we've talked a little bit about modern warfare and why it is that they would not be subject to rockets or bombs from above or planes or whatever.

[18:01] I have no idea. We do not know what the state of war will be like during the tribulation. It is entirely possible that some of the more common weapons that we would depend on may have been significantly neutralized so that they would be worthless in a time like that.

[18:22] We do not know. But at any rate the Antichrist has already marched with his army south and there Christ is going to meet them at Basra and the slaughter is going to take place all the way up through the valley of Jehoshaphat that is indicated there on your map.

[18:39] And before he takes on the enemy he is going to come in response to the plea and the cries of these Jewish people who have come to faith.

[18:53] They have come to embrace Yeshua HaMashiach as their Messiah and they are those of whom Paul is speaking in Romans 11 when he says and so all Israel shall be saved.

[19:09] These will constitute the all Israel at that time. So in Zechariah chapter 12 and verse 7 we read that the Lord also will save the tents of Judah first.

[19:30] And these will be dwelling in tents just like their ancestors did. They will be living in tents there in the city of Petra or the rose red area of Petra which is just adjacent to Basra it's all connected and Teman is all part of it.

[19:50] This is all part of the Edomite territory and Mount Seir S-E-I-R Mount Seir is a range of mountains. All of the descendants of Esau settled there thousands of years ago and this is the area to which Christ is going to return and this is where Israel is going to be gathered in this huddle if you will in this great place that will secure them and God is going to feed them and care for them and protect them supernaturally.

[20:25] Let me remind you this whole seven year period is fraught with supernatural demonstrations the likes of which none of us see now and the tendency is when people read these things in the revelation the tendency is to spiritualize them say well that doesn't actually mean what it says that's you just take that figuratively you take that spiritually and the reason they feel compelled to do that is because the events that are described in the revelation simply do not concur with any of our experiences and our tendency is to say well we've never seen anything like that therefore it can't be it won't be but we need to understand this is a whole new ball game nothing is going to be normal during this time of tribulation nothing is going to be natural it's going to be supernatural and it is going to be the culmination of the cosmic conflict between good and evil wrapped up in these seven years of tribulation there won't be anything normal or natural about it don't try to apply our historic or present experiences that we are familiar with and cram them into the revelation and expect them to fit they won't fit this is an entirely different thing and that has to be kept in mind and when the scriptures say that the lord is going to save the tents of

[22:13] Judah first that is where he is coming and he is coming this is beautiful this gives me chills here are these people we don't know how many there will be they are all huddled together they are all targets of the antichrist they are the only jews remaining on the face of the earth and the antichrist with his army is marching south to finish the job and these people in desperation are crying out for Yeshua to return and he does I just can't imagine what that's going to be like he's going to return and fight for his people he is referred to as the breaker that's one of his names given here in the old testament and he is called the breaker because he breaks the siege that the antichrist has imposed upon this last colony of jews and messiah arrives and says to the effect follow me and they follow him and he leads them out of

[23:39] Petra and confronts the army of the antichrist and who is leading their charge but the antichrist himself and with just a spoken word he is dispatched and we are told that his own armies will trample his body it's going to be quite a scene quite a scene the lord verse 7 will save the tents of judah first in order that the glory of the house of david and the glory of the inhabitants of jerusalem may not be magnified above judah in that day the lord will defend the inhabitants of jerusalem that is after he cares for those in the tents of judah then he's going to march northward you see in your map basra or petra and the dot there that represents them then he is going to march northward and the antichrist will have come southward and there is going to be bloodletting and carnage all the way up to jerusalem it is going to be absolutely unimaginable we are not given any numbers as to how many military participants there are but suffice it to say they will be significant and I do not know if the text that says that the blood will flow to the horse's bridles

[25:09] I do not know if that is an intentional what shall I say an intentional hyperbole just for the sake of conveying the idea that it is an enormous number or if it is to be taken literally but the carnage is going to be unimaginable both of animals and horses that will be involved and humans and then he will go to jerusalem because there there will be another contingent by the way I suspect I misspoke when I said that those that are there in basra represented the totality of all the jews that are left but there is a contingent in jerusalem as well so I guess you would put the two together this would be the larger body there in basra but there are also going to be jews who are stationed there in jerusalem and we'll see what happens to them just momentarily because that is all part of the same event when it says that he will save the tents of judah first then the implication is that he goes on and saves those in jerusalem and it will be something the likes of which like I said we've never seen before while we're in the neighborhood let's come over to zechariah chapter 14 if we may and verse four and in that day his feet will stand on the mount of olives this is the place from which he ascended before the twelve which is in front of jerusalem that is to the east of jerusalem you see the mount of olives as the name indicates sits on a mountain range and it is comprised of several mountains and jerusalem across the valley is on another high level and one of the highest levels in the whole area so that you always go up to jerusalem you ascend but between jerusalem and the mount of olives there is this deep defile that is part of the african rift and it is very deep and very wide and it is just like a v-shape with jerusalem here and the mount of olives here and this great valley in between and what is going to happen and this is just mind boggling as well there is going to be an earthquake now this old globe has suffered a lot of earthquakes in a lot of different places but this is an earthquake of all earthquakes this earthquake is actually going to alter the planet it is going to impact the entire globe we cannot imagine a magnitude that is going to be involved you can forget the richter scale it will not be applicable this is going to be such an enormous earthquake that will just convulse the planet and in this great rift that we have mentioned that runs north and south through this great

[28:38] African rift all the way down into the continent of Africa it is going to be cleaved into crossways east and west so that there is going to be a huge divide east and west as a result of this earthquake and that is going to allow it is going to provide an escape route for those Jews who are in Jerusalem and we do not know how many there will be but it will provide an escape route for them as well and it's just going to be really something verse 4 says that the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley now words mean something especially when you find them in the Bible and when words like very are used they are used for a good reason it isn't just a large valley it is a very large valley so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south and you will flee by the valley of my mountains for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel yes you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of

[30:07] Uzziah king of Judah then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him it will come about in that day there will be no light the luminaries will dwindle for it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord neither day nor night but it will come about that at evening time there will be light and it will come about in that day that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea it will be in summer as well as in winter and the Lord will be king over all the earth in that day the Lord will be the only one and his name the only one there are some other references that we must consider in connection with this so let's go to them quickly if we may and let's consider

[31:08] Joel chapter 3 Hosea Joel back in the Old Testament you know for so many years I guess for many centuries these dear old prophets both minor and major have been kind of relegated to a ho-hum history thing not much importance but they are absolutely loaded with prophetic importance and we would be doing a great disservice to scripture if we ignored them Joel chapter 3 and verse 14 multitudes multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision and without question the day of the Lord is established through scripture as the day of vengeance of our God it is the day that the earth gets its comeuppance it is the day of judgment and this is this is something that has been anticipated and is now in the revelation is now arrived verse 15 the sun and the moon grow dark and the stars lose their brightness and the

[32:30] Lord roars from Zion well I guess roaring is a good word after all he is he is the lion of the tribe of Judah and the phrase that is used here is that he roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem and the heavens and the earth tremble but the Lord is a refuge for his people and a stronghold to the sons of Israel and then you will know that I am the Lord your God does Israel know that now nope they certainly do not but they will then they will know that he is the Lord dwelling in Zion my holy mountain so Jerusalem will be holy and strangers will pass through it no more and then if we may please let's consult

[33:30] Matthew chapter 24 rather familiar passage but one that plays very well in connection with this whole subject matter Matthew chapter 24 this is known as the Olivet Discourse obviously that's where the Lord was when he delivered it there on the Mount of Olives and it is the longest treatise that he has ever given on the subject of prophecy and it is priceless in what it conveys Matthew chapter 24 and 29 but immediately after the tribulation of those days now this is talking about the end of the tribulation and this victory is sent to the Mount of Olives which is nothing more than Christ marching through decimating the enemies and making his way to the Mount of Olives and there he is recognized and proclaimed as Lord of Lords and King of Kings and he has completely subdued the enemy and Israel has been saved and we read that after the tribulation the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken who or what are these powers of heaven they have to be they have to be angelic beings probably fallen angelic beings who occupy some kind of authority in the heavens you know we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers in heavenly places these are spirit beings and they too are going to be dealt with summarily in connection with this tribulation period and I do not understand what all of that is about but I think it makes it quite clear that the powers of the heavens will be shaken and then the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other and we will not take time but if you want to jot down a couple of other references

[36:06] I would suggest Isaiah 45 and verse 4 and Isaiah 65 and verses 7 through 16 they provide a little bit of additional light on that and Matthew Matthew 16 if you would turn back just a few pages please Matthew's gospel chapter 16 and verse 27 Jesus mentions almost as in the side for the son of man and that is the favorite designation that Jesus used of himself he spoke of himself very frequently in the third person and almost always as the son of man a curious expression but it's one that he used repeatedly for the son of man is going to come in the glory of his father with the angels and will then recompense every man according to his deeds all of these tie together and they are descriptive of this end time and the way it is going to be remember this is the last bold judgment and when the angel said poured out that vial it is done or it is finished he simply indicated that this is the end of the wrath of God upon humanity but the huge changes that are going to take place with this great earthquake and these hailstones and everything

[37:40] I personally really do not understand the significance of that I don't know what is going to be achieved by that I don't know how or why there are going to be 100 to 120 pound hailstones or why this enormous earthquake is going to take place other than to say it all fits into the purpose the plan and the program of God in ways that are simply not fully explained to us so we can only but wonder about these things okay I think we have perhaps sufficiently certainly not exhaustively covered this subject of item 8 and his victory is sent upon the mount of olives and I would be happy to entertain any comments or questions that you may have about this now if you have some or if you want to reserve them for next week that's quite alright too by the way speaking of

[38:43] Q&A some of you may have good questions but some people are a little maybe a little shy to speak publicly or ask a question publicly and that's quite alright we understand that so you feel free to write out any question that you may have and just drop it in the offering box and that way you can get your question addressed and you don't have to ask it publicly if you choose not to so are there any questions that you would have now up here okay Barbara where are the 144,000 Jews going to be well the 144,000 have already been active and have completed their mission they surface first in in Revelation chapter 7 and they are found again in Revelation 14 they are very active during the tribulation period we do not know where these 144,000 are going to come from other than the fact that they are Jews they are all

[39:47] Jews 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes and I'll just throw in a little speculation if I may but don't take this to the bank because I'm not that sure of it but we have spent some time with the coming Russian invasion of Israel and they are not coming to Israel for the same reason the Antichrist did the Antichrist is coming to Israel for the sole purpose of eliminating the Jews completely and you've got to remember that the Antichrist is the second person in the unholy trinity Satan is God's counterpart the father the Antichrist is Christ's counterpart and the false prophet is the Holy Spirit's counterpart so Satan has his own trinity and these are all active in one way or another I forgot my train of thought now where I was going with that but the 144,000 are going to be and again let me inject this this is beyond our comprehension and it's beyond our experience because the most dramatic thing about these 144,000 they're indestructible they have the seal of God on them and they are recipients of divine protection and they will be despised and hated by all who are aligned with the Antichrist and they would love nothing more than to eliminate these people but they can't they simply can't kill them because they are under this protective hedge that God has made for them 144,000 can you imagine anything like that

[41:39] I can't I can't imagine 144,000 people that you can't destroy I mean we've got too many ways of killing people and the same with the two witnesses who were in Revelation chapter 12 and we do not know their identity but these two witnesses all we can say for sure is they're Jews they're Jews and these two witnesses are going to bear testimony to God and they are going to be hated by the world because of their message you know that kind of puts political correctness in a new light doesn't it they are going to be hated by the world for their message and they are going to seek to destroy them but they won't be able to do so I can't imagine that I mean we don't have any human beings that are indestructible I mean one good shot from a 44 and that's it they're dead but you can't kill these guys what do they try to do

[42:46] I don't know they try to bomb them try to poison try whatever can't kill them until until the antichrist who has already experienced death the antichrist is put to death and in typical and in typical fashion he is raised from the dead does that ring a bell with anyone he is raised from the dead and when he is he is acclaimed to be supernatural he is acclaimed to be as God and guess what he's going to do he is going to succeed in killing those two witnesses and the world is going to shower him with accolades

[43:49] I just cannot imagine a scene like this but he is we are not told how he kills them how he puts them to death but he does he succeeds in killing them and nobody else could and the world is so grateful they just kind of go bonkers over it and they're sending presents to each other to celebrate the death of these two witnesses it makes you wonder how intense and how powerful their message must have been and we are told that the dead bodies lie in open exposure for three days and they are not allowed to be buried apparently so the world can gloat over the evidence that they are dead and I can imagine the news media from all over the world are focused on this and people are celebrating their death because they hated them so and their message and then lo and behold they come back to life now we look at that and we say wait a minute wait a minute now this is just getting too fanciful

[45:02] I mean this is this is this is this is storybook stuff what I'm trying to tell you nothing about this is going to be normal nothing about this is going to fit any paradigm that we're familiar with this is all new stuff and it is going to be absolutely mind boggling and these two witnesses previously indestructible but killed by the antichrist come back to life and the world sees them and it's a oh no and then they ascend they just ascend right into heaven and they're gone now you can't come up with anything in human history that even begins to equal phenomena like this this is just so extraordinary we don't have any place to put it it just doesn't fit anything it's all different other comments or questions yes just a thought two thoughts on the 144,000 again I would speculate maybe they have once their ministry is done they would go to

[46:14] Petra to minister to the remnant that is there there's going to be over a million you said that is entirely possible they can have their that's their next assignment the other thought on the that I've thought on the two witnesses they're left there on the street when Jesus was crucified and they put him in the tomb they said that he was stolen he stole his body and that's the type of thing they want to do the antichrist puts cameras on them or whatever and says nobody's going to come and steal these bodies I want everybody to see them lay there so there's not going to be another three day resurrection and then it happens right there in front of them I think that's a deliberate thing to try to show that nobody comes along nobody steals them that they can't fulfill the prophecy that they would rise three days later very valid point and as regards 144,000 we're not told what the end result of their ministry is except that as we pointed out time and again that this is a time of enormous evangelism and persecution people are going to pay for their

[47:27] Christianity with their life during this time because one thing that will separate them from others is that they will not have the mark of the beast and that will also make them a target it's going to be very very difficult to survive without the mark of the beast because you'll not be able to buy or sell and you will not be able to purchase anything to sustain life so there will be a huge number of people who are believers who are going to suffer death during this time and they are referred to also in Revelation 6 as the souls under the altar who are crying out for justice how long oh Lord before you avenge us and another comment or question yes it would seem that at the final day there are no survivors who are not believers even worldwide can you make that assumption

[48:27] I'm sorry repeat that please at the last day it would appear that there are no survivors who are not believers is that true even worldwide I do not think that that would probably be the case it appears if I understand this correctly and I'm not sure that I do but I would make a distinction between the survivors that exist when this time frame occurs that is the ascent to the Mount of Olives and the end of the tribulation period because there yet has to be a time of judgment and that is going to follow this and the time of judgment will include the great white throne judgment of

[49:31] Revelation 20 where the small and great stand before God and the books are open and so on and they are going to be judged there according to their works so all who are going into the kingdom all who are going to enter the kingdom will be either regenerated people in bodies just like ours normal bodies who will have survived the tribulation period and this is related to that verse in Matthew 24 that talks about he that endures to the end shall be saved and it's not talking about the salvation of their soul it's just talking about their surviving the tribulation period and when Christ establishes his kingdom where he is ruling and reigning with that rod of iron all who enter into that kingdom will be regenerated believers or they will be people in glorified bodies such as what most of us will be at that time and then even though they are believing people who enter the kingdom they are you call them adequately call them Christians that enter the kingdom they are going to have bodies just like ours and they are going to marry and reproduce and they're going to have children and those children are going to grow up marry and reproduce and at the end of a thousand years the millennial reign of

[51:12] Christ you're going to have a lot of people you talk about however many there are that they start with and they are all multiplying and they have bodies just like our bodies they are not glorified bodies there's going to be a huge number of people and this is what the passage in revelation 20 is all about because at the end of a thousand years we are told that Satan is loosed he's been in this pit where he has been held I have no idea how he's been held he's a spirit being you don't roll him with bars and chains but he is consigned to this place and he is released at the end of a thousand years and someone says well why in the world would God do that the only thing I can think of is that God releases Satan so that he can and will have opportunity to tempt humanity again and it is a demonstration of the fact that man is always susceptible to wanting his own way and we are told in revelation 20 that Satan will not have been rehabilitated he will go out upon the earth to deceive that he's what he does so well to deceive the nations going to be new nations born during this thousand year reign of Christ and our

[52:41] Lord is going to be ruling over all of them as Lord of Lord and King of Kings but these who are going to be multiplied during this time will have a human volition just like you and I exercising right and wrong and Satan is going to give them a deal such a deal and I can do for you more than what this God is doing if you will only follow me and we are told that he succeeds in recruiting a huge number of people but this time there is no there is no conflict there is no onslaught there is no blood letting like the valley of Jehoshaphat there is just fire comes down from heaven and consumes them that's the end of them that's it yeah Joe the great wife back to the great wife during time the judgment of the nations of all people there is somewhere there will be people tucked away this is not the rapture this is you don't want to be tucked away then if you tucked away then you're going to the fire so you want to stay there how does this tie in to that throne judgment time or does it is it a different period or is it right about that same time

[54:10] I'm sorry Joe I'm not following you with the plucked away but none understood there is a history that talks about you know people being plucked away and leaving people now the rapture is one time and that's a good time you want to be raptured away you want to be taken away but there is other history that talks about being taken away and in that case you don't want to be the one taken away yeah I think I think you might be in Matthew 24 and you're right because it does have a rapture like sound to it and that I think misleads people into thinking that it's speaking of the rapture and we are told in Matthew 24 that in those days Matthew 24 38 those days before the flood they were eating drinking getting married and giving marriage and so on and so did not understand until the flood came and took them all away so shall the coming of the son of man be then there shall be two men in the field one will be taken and one will be left two women will be grinding at the mill one will be taken and one will be left and I do think that probably most Christians read into this and I know

[55:29] I did for years as a younger Christian that this is a picture of the rapture one's taken and one's left and the one who was taken was the believer and the one that was left was the unbeliever but if you read the context and when you interpret the Bible the context must always be king nothing defines a passage more than the context in which it is found and the context here is not rescue or deliverance the context here is judgment when it says one shall be taken doesn't mean taken to heaven means taken in death taken in judgment and one will escape that judgment so it it has a rapture like sound to it one taken and one left one left behind one taken to heaven but the context denies that the context indicates that it's taken in death in judgment up here in front oh in the back okay go ahead the antichrist and his army have marched through

[56:38] Jerusalem on down towards Basra to try to eliminate the contingent of Jews down there but it says that there are some Jews left in Jerusalem now how would they survive yeah they will survive because when Christ comes north after saving the tents of Judah first then he will come north and those who are Jews in Jerusalem who remain there are going to be rescued and one way they are going to be delivered and Jerusalem is going to be we are told that Jerusalem is going to be split into thirds and I do not understand the significance of that but it's going to be probably as a result of the earthquake it is going to be sectionalized into three segments and there will be cataclysmic events happening then and it appears to me that it is this huge rift that is going to occur this cleavage in the east and west that is going to provide an escape route from

[57:53] Jerusalem and the Jews who were there and they are going to flee and they will come across that escape route over I think to the Mount of Olives where else there's no place else for them to go so they will be delivered from that maybe we'll just take one more and then reserve other questions that you may have for next week and we will deal with them then okay I'm like Peter I question things you know I mean you look now maybe a hundred years ago when they were preaching fire and brimstone you know they were talking about the end of time but you couldn't see what we see now and I mean I do I believe to a point you can see things that's transpired to make it come the way it's going to happen but thinking outside the box have you ever just thought off to the side and it's like wait a minute Satan knows this word better than we do he knows what's going to happen he knows how he's going to end but have you ever thought outside of the box and just think wonder why he isn't trying to change things to where it doesn't end like it's going to

[58:55] I mean it's going to end that way and I get it but sometimes you just think outside the box and like wow man if Satan's that smart why isn't he changing things or changing certain leaders you know what I mean does that make sense but sometimes I do I question it I mean I know I'm saved and I know where I'm going I know my life but sometimes when you just get those out of thought feelings it's like I wonder why Satan isn't changing this stuff he knows how he's going to go but why isn't he changing leaders thoughts or changing countries well let me put it this way my suspicion that's all I can call it is a suspicion my suspicion is that Satan is active very active in a lot of ways that we don't know and don't understand but he has nefarious ways of influencing people and dignitaries and people in position of power authority etc and I can't prove this either but let me just suggest this as a possibility

[59:57] Satan his main modus operandi seems to be deceit he is frequently referred to as the deceiver and we've explained deceit and deception in the past people are deceived when they are caused to think that things are other than they are it is a an obfuscation of reality that they are that they are subject to and and I don't know this and I cannot prove this at all but I it is it is my suspicion that not only is Satan a great deceiver but I think he is subject to self deceit and this is where his pride comes from

[61:03] I would not be a bit surprised now this may sound like a real stretch to you and we tend to think that Satan knows this whole picture and he knows his end and everything I would not be a bit surprised if this being called Satan does not have such a mountainous ego that he thinks he can really pull this thing off he really has a shot now nothing could be more self deceiving than that because he doesn't but when I look at the capabilities of the human ego and what it is able to realize or able to speculate or able to follow or to fancy or whatever and I have to think that his is much greater and you know ignorance and arrogance kind of go hand in hand and ignorance and arrogance fuels so many things just for example completely unrelated completely unrelated but do you realize nothing nothing engenders racial division and racial hatred more than ignorance and arrogance just those two things are responsible for people hating one another because of their color or because of their origin or whatever it all stems from ignorance and arrogance and the ignorance is not knowing and the arrogance is even though I don't know

[62:52]  I know I'm better than you I know that I know I'm superior to you that's just gross arrogance arrogance is ignorance on steroids and that's what we're suffering with right now and this whole racial thing and everything is all wrapped up in that same package and it all goes back to deceit and self-deceit and Genesis chapter 3 all the way back there so we'll continue this next week and I urge you to bring any questions that you may have and if you want to write them out and put them in the box that's fine if you want to ask them here that's fine too thank you so much for your kind patience for our being seated this morning and I appreciate your indulging me my sciatica especially appreciates it so if you will stand please father we are so thankful that you've been pleased to reveal what you have regarding these issues in your word and we would be the first to admit that they are so far removed from our experience and our histories that we just find them overwhelming and yet we know it's going to be an entirely different time with different ingredients and different purpose than what this world has ever had before thank you for each one here this morning and we pray that if nothing else through this material that we've considered that each and every one will be caused to reflect upon who they are and whether they are in Christ or outside of Christ whether they have a personal relationship with you or whether they do not and we trust that you will use your word to apply it to each and every heart to that end in Christ's name amen not or